Hermes Unveils New Kermit Oliver Scarf

Renowned artist Kermit Oliver stood in one spot for about two hours Wednesday, cordially greeting a long line of fans who’d come to help celebrate the release of his 17th scarf design for Hermes. (Above him was displayed the first of that distinguished, oh-so-collectible series, which features a turkey.)

The new design, La Vie sauvage du Texas, celebrates the state’s wildlife, inspired partly by a three-day trip with Hermes bigwigs to the King Ranch. (Although as Oliver suggested, he’s known many of the critters in the elaborate painting for the design all his life, and he has a library of books about them.)

The bobcat looks especially intense, peering out, and a longhorn dominates the center of the composition, but other details of Oliver’s art could keep you occupied for quite a while. It depicts 120 native animals in a prairie-wetlands environment typical of South Texas. Beautiful birds fly around the border.

The scarf was produced in four colorways in a limited edition of 2,000; but with pre-sales, Oliver’s collectors had snapped up the orange and black versions even before the party began. Turquoise and pink versions were selling fast.

A portion of scarf sales benefits the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, which has produced peer-reviewed research on Texas native species for about 20 years through a partnership with Texas A&M University.

Tio and Janell Kelberg were there along with Robert Chavez, the Hermes US CEO. Also spotted: Lynn Wyatt, Tina Pyne, Ceron, Bobbie and John Nau.